The topicality of “We Are Young. We Are Strong.” is hard to miss, which is a key reason why this worthy but over-obvious fictionalization of xenophobic riots in 1992 Germany will hit a nerve. Burhan Qurbani’s mostly black-and-white sophomore feature (after “Shahada”) is a by-the-book re-creation of the buildup to two nights of violent unrest in the eastern port city of Rostock, when Vietnamese immigrants became the target of disaffected residents unhappy with their own status in a recently unified Germany. Given current tensions with “the other in our midst,” the pic will undoubtedly gain traction at home following a late January opening. Euro screens may also beckon.

Like most areas of the former East Germany, Rostock suffered from a depressed economy and general malaise following the fall of the Berlin Wall, exacerbated by a not-unwarranted sense of alienation from the West. Qurbani’s strong suit is the way he captures the zeitgeist,

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